Month: November 2015

The Marian Consort, conducted by Rory McCleery. The Rose Consort of Viols, led by John Bryan.
66:12
Delphian DCD34160

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his superb disc manages to be both rewarding and frustrating: rewarding, because of the fine performances and excellent repertory; frustrating, because so many of the pieces are already available in equally distinguished recent versions, leaving other material from John Baldwin’s partbooks awaiting commercial recordings. On the one hand, it can be argued that there cannot be too many recordings of the title track, Tallis’s Loquebantur variis linguis, the luminous Whitsun Respond in seven parts which survives only in manuscript. On the other hand, the two motets by William Mundy on this disc, Adolescentulus sum ego and Adhaesit pavimento, are available in equally fine performances by Magnificat on “The Tudors at Prayer” (Linn CKD 447), while Sive vigilem by the variously spelt Derrick Gerarde (who with a name like that nowadays would be playing in goal for Tranmere Rovers) is on Signum Classics’ first disc of music from the Baldwin Partbooks “In the Midst of Life” sung superbly by Contrapunctus (SIGCD408). It all raises the question as to whether the putative purchaser would wish to own all these recordings, or would stick with just one. The latter would be a serious misjudgement because, despite the overlapping contents, all three consist of wonderful music, at least some of it not duplicated elsewhere; on the disc under review, one such work is the premiere recording of the Canon 6 in 1 by Byrd, played by The Rose Consort. These days Byrd premieres are few and far between, so this item is valuable discographically, but it is also valuable in its own right as an intriguing and delightful piece of music. It is followed appropriately by Byrd’s early motet O salutaris hostia whose violent discords are triggered by its complicated canonical construction. The Marian Consort’s interpretation does not begin as assertively as that of The Cardinall’s Musick (ASV CD GAU 178) but by the end is singeing listeners’ eardrums.

Another premiere recording is Christian Hollander’s Dum transisset Sabbatum which, despite possible first impressions, should emphatically not be dismissed as mere Franco-Flemish note-spinning. Concluding the disc is a work seldom recorded, but which becomes more remarkable as it proceeds, and which then compounds that remarkableness in subsequent hearings: this is John Sheppard’s Ave maris stella, a selection all the more welcome during what is being regarded as his quincentenary. Finally, multiple recordings have helped me out of one particular quandary. Hitherto I have been unable to decide whether I think that Taverner’s sublime six-part piece Quemadmodum, which survives with the Latin title but no text, was intended by the composer as a work for instruments or voices. Comparing the brisk performance on this disc by The Rose Consort with the more leisurely performances by Contrapunctus and Magnificat on the discs mentioned above, has convinced me that Taverner intended it as a vocal setting of Psalm XLII. For example, the sonority at the first appearance (in the modern edition) of the words “ad te Deus” is far more successful when sung; and the musical phrase accompanying the words (again in the modern edition) “et apparebo” sounds much more like a phrase that would be set to words (even if not these) rather than one composed for instruments. In summary, this is a superb disc, and however many pieces from it one might possess on other recordings, its outstanding performances, wonderful repertory and profound interpretations justify its purchase, without hesitation.

Richard Turbet

José Antonio Escobar vihuela de mano
66:05
Naxos 8.573305

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]uys Milán’s El Maestro (1536) was the first of seven books of vihuela music published in the 16th century. The first nine pieces are fantasias, in modes 1-4, not too hard to play, and graded according to difficulty. There follow nine fantasias with redobles (running passages) exploring all eight modes, four fantasias in modes 5-8, and six pavanas, the last of which is in triple time. José Antonio Escobar plays all the solo music in the order in which it appears in the source, and plans another CD to cover the rest of El Maestro (Libro 2). Milán’s music has an improvisatory feel, and he seems to enjoy the repetition of little motifs or riffs, which may be heard in more than one piece. In bars 73 and 77 of Fantasia 19, there is an extraordinary throw-back to earlier times with a double-leading note chord. There are some curious changes of harmony, such as the unexpected shift from major to minor in bar 15 of no. 3.

Escobar’s playing is clear and expressive, and he creates a variety of moods from the lively to the slow and reflective. He adds his own ornaments sparingly – an upper mordent here and a lower mordant there – and a flourish in the repeat of Pavana 1. He articulates chords to good effect, for example in Fantasia 19. He sounds fine when he keeps the rhythm steady, and he has a nicely paced ending to Fantasia 7, but sometimes he has a jerky way of playing – accelerating through fast passages – which creates a feeling of instability and unease. Milán advises playing fast notes extra fast, but he doesn’t invite a drastic change of speed within each phrase. Dotted minims tied over the barline are clipped in no. 3, also adding to the effect of stumbling forward. Escobar strums a few chords in the final track, but the momentary uplift from that, is spoilt by rushing the fast notes (minims).

Nine bars from the end of the second fantasia there is a serious mistake which has slipped through the editing net: instead of a chord consisting of just two E flats and B flat, Escobar catches the fourth course, adding a minor third, yet if a full triad had been desirable, a major chord would have been appropriate. The same rogue G flat can be heard in bar 83 of no. 3, bar 70 of no. 7, and bars 107, 165, 178 and 191 of no. 19. Rather than risk this happening, one might be tempted to hold down a G at the 2nd fret of the 4th course, so if the wrong string is sounded, at least the resultant major chord wouldn’t be so bad. However, the way to avoid G flat sounding at the fourth course, is to stop the second and third courses with the first finger of the left hand as if an open 1st course were needed, rather as a violinist would for stopping a perfect fifth, and not use a full barré across all the strings at the first fret.

For the final cadence of no. 4, I would dampen the open 6th course of the dominant chord before playing the final chord with the open 5th course in the bass. Escobar lets the 6th course ring on, producing a second inversion for the last chord – interesting, because in no. 5 he does dampen the string for a clearly stated final chord.

Escobar’s vihuela was made by Julio Castaños from Málaga, and is tuned to G at A=415. It has a clear, bright sound, which suits the music well.

Stewart McCoy